Mosaic-ing Is that a word?

That is a pictire of my FIRST mosaic ever before grout, I will get a finished picture and put it up ASAP its upstairs and stairs are evil.

I have mosaic-ed a few things, a flowerpot and the top of a wooden box from Michale's back before i decided to blog, so until i get a new one finished i thought i would give some pointers for basic mosaic-ing that i have learned as I go.

1.) you can get buckets and buckets of broken tile from the BLUE big box hardware store, i think we got like 600 POUNDS of broken tile for $10 at our local one. It may be mostly beige, but its CHEAP and I actually like the look of one of my projects where i used a mix of little white and beige tiles.

2.) the "mosaic glue" that you can get at craft stores is not so fantastic. I do not like it, hence why i am on a hiatus from mosaic-ing. I use liquid nail, to much better results, that other glue doesn't hold up to some materials, like thicker broken dishes or stone tiles. Liquid nails on the other hand... awesome.

3.) I haven't done any patterns but one little flower that fell off because of crappy glue (see above) but I like the random look of the lack of pattern, i think that is the best way to start.

4.) Mosaic-ing as therapy: there is something very therapeutic about breaking dishes. Its awesome. I get stacks of dishes at yard sales or The Goodwill, and i have a blast the next couple days breaking them.

5.) Dishes/broken tiles to use- ceramic, stoneware stone Dishes/tiles not to use- Porcelain, Porcelain breaks weird, and sometimes the pattern really just peels off and it isn't pretty

6.) Safety while breaking- wrap what you are breaking in some form of cloth i used an old scrub top, wear safety glasses, Use tile nippers to clean up edges you don't like.

7.) Get Messy with the grout, wear gloves though and i do it oustide on a tarp cause i am messy!

8.) AND MOST IMPORTANT! HAVE FUN! Its fun to get messy, its fun to create something from basically TRASH. If you like it who cares what anyone else thinks?

on another note... we just had one heckofa storm here and i am an idiot or insane or just a pushover cause i spent 15 min in the rain trying to catch a lost scared dog that was out in the torrential downpour, i succeeded he is in my garage and dryish.
poor baby


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